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Cover of A Darker Shade of Magic

A Darker Shade of Magic

V. E. Schwab

508 pages

A swashbuckling, shadowy romp through parallel cities where magic is a living, breathing, and deeply dangerous thing.

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What it feels like

Reading this book feels like stepping through a hidden doorway into a world that is simultaneously familiar and thrillingly dangerous. The narrative moves at a brisk, cinematic clip, propelled by the crackling chemistry and sharp banter between a weary, duty-bound magician and a fiercely ambitious thief. Schwab crafts an atmosphere that shifts seamlessly from the drab, soot-stained streets of a mundane city to the vibrant, blood-soaked alleys of magical empires. The prose is highly visual, painting each parallel universe with distinct, sensory textures like the smells of flowers, copper, and ash. It is a swashbuckling, shadowy adventure that delights readers who crave roguish antiheroes, intricate magic systems, and the intoxicating thrill of a high-stakes heist across dimensions.

Mood
  • shadowy
  • vibrant
  • swashbuckling
  • perilous
Tone
  • cinematic
  • witty
  • adventurous
  • slightly dark
Pace
brisk
Themes
corrupting nature of power · unlikely alliances · yearning for freedom · duality and parallel lives
The writing
Highly visual and cinematic, blending sharp, witty dialogue with rich, sensory world-building.
The arc
Moves from restless isolation and duty-bound weariness to thrilling, high-stakes camaraderie and desperate survival.
Who it's for
Readers who love roguish antiheroes, intricate magic systems, and fast-paced portal fantasies with a gothic edge.
Content notes
  • violence
  • blood magic
  • murder
  • torture

About the book

STEP INTO A UNIVERSE OF DARING ADVENTURE, THRILLING POWER, AND MULTIPLE LONDONS.

Kell is one of the last travelers--magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes connected by one magic city.

There's Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, and with one mad king--George III. Red London, where life and magic are revered--and where Kell was raised alongside Rhy Maresh, the roguish heir to a flourishing empire. White London--a place where people fight to control magic and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London. But no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, ambassador of the Maresh Empire, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs into Delilah Bard, a cutpurse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.

This description comes from the publisher. A Darker Shade of Magic is the first book of the Shades of Magic trilogy.

Description from Open Library.

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